Do this for her
by Deathberry15
Summary: Ichigo would've usually worn his regular clothes, but he decided this was a special occasion. Oneshot fluffiness. Enjoy!


I was toying with a few ideas, and so fortunately I found on the IchiHime community a link to a very nice site. And 'lo and behold! There is a contest commemorating the Tanabata festival, and dedicated to my favorite shipping in the Bleach fandom.

_**EDIT**__: In reply to a reviewer's comment, I am fully aware that there is in fact a discrepancy in the new "select characters" feature when posting a fic to the Bleach category. I know for a fact that, traditionally, names in Japan are written in the order of family name first, followed by the person's name; I am Japanese after all (and believe me, took me an awfully long time to get used to introducing myself as Tai Natsuke instead of Natsuke Tai). Meanwhile, this new feature, which allows you to select one or two main characters of your fic, is a little off: Ichigo's name, for instance, is in the Western order (Ichigo K.), whereas Orihime's and many other characters' names are mistakenly put in the inverse: Inoue O., Ishida U., etc. Of course it looks odd, but there's nothing I can do about it. I suppose this feature is available now in order for you to select your main characters so you don't have to write, say, "IchiHime" on the story summary. They just happened to get it wrong. _

**Author's note:** This was specifically written for the contest. (_**Edit:**__ Although some people pointed out this story is no longer eligible for the contest, because I posted it before sending it to Lady Orihime. Bugger, I misunderstood. I thought I had to do it the other way around. Oh well...)_

**Music:** "Still love" by Holly Brook, "Fade" by Theatre of Tragedy.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them, Kubo-san does. I'm just borrowing them for fun. I promise to give them back in one piece.

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**Do this for her**

**- by Deathberry15**

Ichigo was never too fond of wearing yukata. His father loved them, though. Isshin was quite fond of them, going as far as owning several, and he had the habit of wearing them often (even if there was not an occasion and they were not the best outfit for him to work in) because he really liked them. But Ichigo didn't much. They made him feel rather uncomfortable; somewhat constricted, in fact.

However, he had agreed to wear one for the Tanabata festival, so he had no choice but to buy a new one now. He had grown so tall since the last time he wore one, several years ago, and his old one was too short for him and too small for his shoulders and the sleeves only reached to his elbows.

He had to go shopping for a new one, something he hadn't expected to be so mortifying. He dragged his friends along, hoping that it would make him feel better if at least one of them bought one too. Big mistake; Ishida made a big fuss about his choices of patterns and kept saying he lacked style completely, while Keigo acted as noisy and childish as ever, trying to get everyone excited about the festival (because he always got overly excited about everything, and he'd get extremely sensitive whenever no one shared that excitement). Only Chad and Mizuiro seemed to be normal, but they weren't very helpful; neither was getting a yukata. Only Ichigo was.

It just felt strange. The last time he had gotten one, he had gone shopping with his mother. She was then one who usually took him to the stores and helped him select his clothes. The last yukata he got, his mother was specifically looking for one that wouldn't be too bright or too dark; Ichigo didn't like to wear anything to make him stand out, because he already stood out enough thanks to his hair. And she knew he hated that.

His yukata was simple and dark blue, a color that really suited him. He tried it on at the store and came out of the fitting room, fighting with the sleeves that covered his hands and the folds at his waist that started to itch because the obi was too tight. He stood before the mirror and looked at himself and frowned. Masaki, on the other hand, broke into a big smile.

"Look at you. You look so handsome," she said, and Ichigo lit up. He knew somehow she wasn't just saying it to make him feel happy.

Ever since his mother died, he just hadn't found another occasion to wear a yukata. Festivals were not such a big deal for him, and whenever he went he just wore his normal clothes. Not even his dad, big fan of the traditional clothing, ever talked him into wearing one again. Ichigo just wasn't in the mood for that. But he had already agreed to it this time.

He stood in front of the mirror, looking himself up and down, and thinking of him mum.

"Ready, Ichigo?"

There was a knock on the door, and Orihime poked her head into his room. Ichigo tried not to blush, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't sure if it was because of what he was wearing or because his thoughts had been interrupted. Orihime remained concealed behind the door, as if not sure if she could come in.

"Onii-chan?" Yuzu walked in, wearing a flower-patterned yellow yukata with a green obi. She pulled Orihime by the hand to lead her inside. Ichigo blinked a few times; he had never seen Orihime in yukata before. He had no idea she could ever look even more beautiful. Her red hair, held up in an elegant twist on the back of her head, made a very nice contrast with the green of her robe, and the yellow and orange obi stood out against the purple and orange leaves design.

"Aw, look at you. You look very nice," Yuzu said to him, looking him up and down. She then pointed at Orihime, who was blushing as brightly as he was now. "Look at Orihime-chan. Doesn't she look nice too?"

Ichigo tried to reply, but he was afraid he'd only mumble something incoherent. Orihime eyed him too, the deep blue robe and the silver sash. That color really suited him, definitively.

"You look so handsome," she said, not corny or overly excited. She just broke into a smile, and he felt his heart jump. He also knew Orihime wasn't just saying it to be nice, either.

"Are we ready to go, then?" Yuzu asked excitedly, looking from one to the other.

"YEAH LET'S GO!"

"WOO-HOO! WE'RE READY!"

"COME ON, YUZU!"

Ichigo and Orihime stared wide-eyed in shock as Rukia, Renji and Karin suddenly paraded into the room, each wearing colorful yukata, and shouting very loudly in phony excited voices, and then straight away marched right back out, now dragging a very confused Yuzu along. Rukia winked at Ichigo just before she exited the room and closed the door.

"What the hell was— oh, never mind. I should be used to this already," Ichigo exclaimed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Orihime chuckled.

"Yes, I guess that's true," she said.

Ichigo smiled at his girlfriend and he suddenly felt more at ease. He leaned in and kissed her.

"You look beautiful," he said. Orihime blushed.

They would visit Orihime's brother first, and Ichigo's mother, and afterwards they would join their friends for the festival. Normally he would have just worn his regular clothes. This time it was a special occasion, he decided. Orihime had asked him to; he wanted to do this for her.

"Let's go, then," he said, and took Orihime's hand.

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I shall attempt another story now and then decide which one is in for the contest (well, not anymore, I guess).

Honestly, I don't know why this took me so long. I finished it on the first sitting, but it took me about two weeks to finally post (and it's not like I did much tweaking in between). Gaah, I'm such a dork.

I might be going back to Japan for the summer, so I still wanted to get this done before I'm too busy to do it. Whatever…

Have a nice one!

**-Nariko the Seer a.k.a Deathberry15**


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